Santacruzan

PCJ Parish Santacruzan 2017

06 May 2017

A commemoration of the search for the Holy Cross by Queen Helena

The Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish in BF Homes, Phase 3, celebrates its 35th year anniversary. Parishioners gather together with Our Lady of Candelaria as their patroness in a journey of love and unity to embrace this devotion to her.

As the journey moves on this month of May, it is but fitting to commemorate the search for the Holy Cross and its finding by Queen Helena of Rome in the year 330A.D. in the form of a procession depicting the growth of Christianity in an empire which used to be governed by pagan beliefs.

Santacruzan 2017 was conceptualized with the objective of celebrating the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, the first Catholic Emperor of the Roman Empire. This is a religious-historical re-enactment of the search and the victorious finding of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. It is believed that three crosses were excavated at the instance of Queen Helena and the true cross was declared when a woman who was near death touched it and became fully recovered.

Queen Helena brought the relic of the Holy Cross and even the nails of the crucifixion to Rome where joyful celebration as a form of thanksgiving occurred.

A festival dedicated to this celebration was introduced here in the Philippines by the Spaniards, and a procession took form in this festival to symbolize the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena.

This Santacruzan 2017 aims to commemorate this religious-historical event with a procession participated by young men and women who will portray the role of biblical characters who will symbolize the birth of Christianity and the spread of good news of Our Lord, across a whole empire, an entire nation.

PCJ’s Santacruzan 2017 was participated by 31 parish servants who portrayed different biblical roles before and during the life of Christ. Eleven (11) different roles of Mama Mary were represented, each one closely depicting it, and strengthened by the symbols they carried. Even the ruling empire at the time of the finding of the Holy Cross was represented by two significant characters in the history of Constantinople, Reyna Emperatriz and Reyna Elena.

Our Lady of Candelaria, PCJ’s Patroness, was the culminating character of the Santacruzan procession. She represents the queen whose candle lights up the whole world, with her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. She is the symbol of Our Mother who will accompany us and all members of the PCJ community to bring Christ’s love to the people…the family, the youth, the basic ecclesial communities and to the poor.

This event, which was celebrated last 06 May 2017, was a living witness of PCJ Parish’s expression of faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one true God and a fitting gesture of honour and respect to His Mother, our Mother Mary, Our Lady of Candelaria.